Ye Manshu regretted that, in her previous life, she had never gained experience in surgery.
As for making antibiotics, alcohol, and iodine tincture, she only had a vague understanding—just a little theoretical knowledge.
While she was deep in thought, she suddenly heard Er Ya crying outside.
“Little brother, that’s mine! You can’t take it!”
Cheng Yunfan’s voice followed:
“It used to all be mine! You girls are just useless money-losers. Give it here!”
Madam Sun hurried outside, and Ye Manshu followed.
Cheng Yunfan had already shoved Er Ya to the ground and snatched the dried meat from her hands, stuffing it into his mouth.
Da Ya was comforting Er Ya.
“Er Ya, you can have my dried meat. Don’t cry anymore.”
But Cheng Yunfan rushed over and snatched Da Ya’s food too.
“Yours is mine too!”
He was overbearing to the extreme.
Ye Manshu was furious. Da Ya’s crippled leg had been caused by this brat. These past few days, seeing him behave obediently, she had thought he was still just a three-year-old child and hadn’t bothered arguing with him.
Who knew the rot was already in his bones?
If she didn’t teach him a harsh lesson now, he would grow up completely twisted.
Madam Sun didn’t dare discipline Cheng Yunfan. In the past, Ye Manshu had doted on him excessively—no one was allowed to touch her precious grandson.
So Madam Sun could only comfort her two daughters.
But Ye Manshu had no intention of spoiling him anymore.
She pulled out a thorny switch and lashed it across Cheng Yunfan’s back.
“You little beast! Who taught you to steal your sisters’ things?”
Cheng Yunfan was stunned. He never expected his grandmother to hit him.
He had always been the treasure in her palm. Although she had treated him coldly these past few days, he still felt superior.
Only after the third strike landed did he react.
“WAAAH—!”
His miserable screams echoed through the courtyard.
Cheng Yuan and Madam Yang finally rushed out.
“Mother, please show mercy! Stop hitting him!”
Madam Yang threw herself over Cheng Yunfan protectively.
Ye Manshu didn’t stop at all. The switch struck Madam Yang as well.
Cheng Yuan shivered. He knew how painful those lashes were and didn’t dare step forward to protect them. He could only plead from the side.
“Mother, stop hitting him! He’s still little!”
“Three years old is enough to see a child’s future! At three, he’s already this vicious. At two, he shoved his sister down and crippled her leg. Now he steals food too. He’s practically a demon. The fact that I haven’t crippled him is already my mercy!”
Ye Manshu showed no intention of stopping.
Madam Yang wanted to protect him? Fine. Then mother and son could be beaten together.
The reason Cheng Yunfan had become like this wasn’t just because the original owner spoiled him. Cheng Yuan and his wife’s indulgence was also a major cause.
Cheng Yunfan cried until his voice turned hoarse, yet Ye Manshu’s switch seemed to have eyes, always finding him.
“Cheng Yunfan, remember this: starting tomorrow, you’ll go gather herbs with the adults and learn to support yourself. I do not raise ungrateful wolves. If you offend again, I’ll throw you out of this house!”
Only after Ye Manshu seemed satisfied with the beating did Madam Yang dare stand up. Trembling, she picked up Cheng Yunfan and answered for him:
“Mother, I’ll take him to work with me. I absolutely won’t let him make mistakes again.”
If Ye Manshu really drove them out, they wouldn’t be able to remain in this village.
The village chief and clan elder both adored Ye Manshu. Even her descendants could never outrank her.
After all, the village chief had been raised by Ye Manshu’s mother, while the clan elder had been raised by her father.
“An elder brother is like a father; an elder sister is like a mother”—that saying perfectly described Ye Manshu’s parents.
As for Ye Manshu, the only daughter they had in old age, everyone treated her as if she were their own child.
While Madam Yang applied medicine to Cheng Yunfan’s wounds, he endured the pain for a long while before gritting his teeth and saying:
“Mother, Grandma is evil. Kill her!”
Madam Yang hurriedly covered his mouth.
“My little ancestor, don’t say such things! Do you not want to live anymore? Do you want another beating?”
“Mmmph…”
Unable to speak, Cheng Yunfan’s eyes finally showed a trace of fear. After all, his body still hurt terribly.
“Ah Yuan,” Madam Yang said quietly, “Mother actually gave cloth to Da Ya and Er Ya’s family today and told them to make clothes for the children. Do you think that as long as we obey and show filial respect, we’ll receive things too?”
Cheng Yuan pondered.
“Mother’s thoughts are hard to guess now. Before, she was simple-minded—I could always tell what she was thinking. But now it’s like she has all kinds of ideas. I have no clue what’s going on in her head.”
“Whatever she’s thinking, at least she’s no longer favoring Third Brother. It’s just pitiful for our Xiao Fan… Mother doesn’t seem to like him anymore either.”
“I don’t want her to like me!” Cheng Yunfan broke free from Madam Yang’s hand. “Mother, Grandma is so fierce! Can’t we stop living with her?”
“Xiao Fan, don’t say nonsense. If we split from the family, do you want your father to keep doing corvée labor forever? Speaking of which, this year it should be Third Brother’s turn.”
That day, the village chief announced that it was time once again for the yearly labor service. They would depart in two days.
Each household had to send one person.
“Mother, this time it should be Third Brother’s turn. Before this, Second Brother and I took turns going.”
If Cheng Qian were still studying, then this year Cheng Yuan would have had to go again.
Cheng Qian immediately protested.
“I’m teaching students! How can I go perform labor service? Should I just abandon the children and stop teaching for a month?”
“Then abandon them for a month. They’re only beginner students anyway. I’ll teach them in your place.”
Ye Manshu spoke leisurely.
“You’ll teach them? No, no, how could you possibly replace me?”
Just thinking about labor service made Cheng Qian afraid. It was exhausting and dangerous.
“Why can’t I? I’ve read your books these past few days. I can teach them.”
Ye Manshu already had her own plans.
Cheng Qian stubbornly refused to go. Ye Manshu grew impatient.
“Try spouting more nonsense and see what happens.”
She had never liked Cheng Qian. Though he appeared obedient now, a person’s thoughts could be revealed through their eyes.
Cheng Qian had definitely not truly changed.
He was merely being suppressed.
Changing someone was not something that could be accomplished in just over a month.
He needed to become genuinely afraid—truly lose all thoughts of resistance.
That meant she could not allow Cheng Qian to hold onto even the slightest hope.
Ye Manshu held a thorny switch to keep the still-defiant Cheng Qian under control. Then she took out a sheet of paper with several written characters on it.
“I practiced writing for just over a month. Look—my handwriting is no worse than yours. You studied for ten years? Pah!”
Then she picked up the Three Character Classic and began reciting it flawlessly from memory.
“Well? Can you recite the Three Character Classic word for word for me right now? If that’s not enough to compare us, then let’s recite the Four Books and Five Classics.”
Ye Manshu reached for Mencius, and Cheng Qian’s face immediately changed.
“Mother… you only learned all this in just over a month?”
He had seen her practicing writing before but never paid attention.
Who would have thought her handwriting was as good as his? And now she could even recite Mencius?
Ye Manshu ignored the question and began reciting passages from Mencius. Sweat started dripping down Cheng Qian’s face.
“Third Son, after the phrase ‘taking human nature as benevolence and righteousness,’ what comes next?”
Cheng Qian was speechless.
What was it again? Was that really a line from Mencius?
Ye Manshu casually flipped open a page.
“See for yourself.”
Cheng Qian picked up the book. Sure enough, it was there. The next line was “just as one uses willow wood to make cups and bowls.” Yet the final two characters looked strangely unfamiliar to him. How were they even pronounced?
“Third Son, read it aloud for me.”
Cheng Qian forced himself to read.
Pfft!
Ye Manshu burst into mocking laughter.
“You studied for ten years, yet you’re not even as good as someone who studied for just over a month. I recognized some characters before, but I’d never touched the Four Books and Five Classics. Third Son, if you still refuse to accept defeat, pick any sentence you like, and I’ll continue reciting from there.”
Cheng Qian: “…”